Chapter 686: You Are Here
âYou are saying that extraterrestrial life-forms came to the earth tens of millions of years ago and almost ruled the world?â Director Gao was surprised upon hearing Bai Qingâs confession.
âYes.â
With gritted teeth, Bai Qing had finally blurted out everything to director Gao.
Director Gao frowned. âYou do know what youâve just said sounded like a novel or movie plot, right? Itâs absurd. Itâs fine if Lin Sisi and her friends believe in such a thing, but how old are you this year? I guess you are around 16, right? Youâll be an adult soon. Why would you believe such things?â
Bai Qingâs heart sank.
âYou said that that thing replaced your mother and put your father in jail by framing him for her murder. I remember reading about it in the newspapers. That explains why such a thought would appear in your mind, you poor child. You wished your father was innocent. Understandably, a daughter would want her father to stay out of jail,â director Gao said, âBut you are pinning your hopes on aliens. You are even telling me that these aliens will annihilate us all. Strictly speaking, you have violated the law.
Bai Qing opened her mouth, attempting to further explain herself.
âIâŠâ
âYou have just lost your mother, and you are about to lose your father. Thatâs why youâve been so desperate to believe the absurd fantasy that your mind created. It is simply because of everything bad thatâs been happening to you. Maybe the real bad guys made up these stories to deceive you. Their intentions mustâve been ill since the beginning and are perhaps taking advantage of your deepest desires to gain your trust.â
âNo, I have photos and videos to prove my claims, but I canât show them to you now,â Bai Qing valiantly defended Zhang Heng.
âReally? Did he show these videos and photos to anyone else besides you?â
ââŠâ
Bai Qing was left speechless.
âAnd why didnât you call the police?â the director went on. âI guess he must have told you that the police couldnât be trusted too and that from now on, you can only trust each other. But you didnât enter the factory with him that night. You have no idea what went on, right? With current technology, itâs really easy to fabricate photos and videos,â analyzed director Gao calmly. âHe couldâve just walked into the factory, then walked out without really doing anything inside. When he came out, he could have shown you materials he prepared in advance.â
âHow about the CT image? There is indeed a shadow in the fourth ventricle. I saw it tooâŠâ Bai Qing said, but her voice became smaller and smaller.
âYouâve realized, havenât you?â said director Gao. âHeâs been pumping you with second-hand information since the very beginning. Since photos and videos can be fabricated, he couldâve done the same to the CT image, right? Ask yourself if aliens invading our world sound really true, or thereâs a better chance that heâs really just trying to deceive you?â
Bai Qing was all but dumbfounded.
âIt seems youâve already gotten your answer,â director Gao sighed. âThis must be a very difficult period for you. I understand how you feel. When I learned that Lin Sisi and her two friends passed away, I did wish it wasnât true. This is human nature. When we encounter insurmountable difficulties, we refuse to accept them. We simply bury our heads in the sand, like an ostrich.â
âI am not an ostrich. I just hope that whatever happened to me that night was only a bad dream. I just want my mom and dad to be home.â
Bai Qing started to cry.
âI know, the truth always hurts.â Director Gao patted Bai Qingâs shoulder and comforted her.
âSorry.â Bai Qing wiped away the tears from her face. âThank you for telling me all these things. I have interrupted your work. Iâm so⊠so stupid. I shouldâve thought of that.â
âItâs okay. This is growth that everyone has to endure,â director Gao paused. âYou know, when I was a child, I too encountered something that saddened me. However, that incident actually prompted me to become an astronomer later. Although I have left the education sector for a few years now, I quickly realize how insignificant I am whenever I look up at the stars in the sky. Sooner or later, youâll feel your troubles getting smaller and smaller. You can come to look for me whenever you want. I can teach you some astronomy.â
âYou are really kind,â Bai Qing replied gratefully.
âLooking at you reminds me of my daughter. You both look different, but your temperaments are very similar,â replied director Gao while waiting for Bai Qing to walk out of the storeroom before turning off the lights and closing the door. âUnfortunately, sheâs settled down in another country.â
âIâm nowhere like your daughter.â
âYou have no idea the troubles she caused me when she was a child,â director Gao denoted. âShe the main reason I got myself into the education sector. At that time, I desperately wanted to figure out what really went on in her little head.â
âŠ
Director Gao then walked Bai Qing to the exit, watched her walk out of the Childrenâs Palaceâs gate, smiled, and waved at her before returning upstairs. And Bai Qing smiled in return. Turning around, she walked to the street right beside her. At first, she maintained her usual pace, but after a while, she began walking faster and faster, her body trembling uncontrollably at the same time. In the end, she dashed toward the mobile phone repair shop two hundred meters away. And she asked a man that was playing with his mobile phone in the shop, âHow much does it cost to replace a mobile phoneâs screen?â
âIt depends on the model. I need to see if itâs the internal or external screen that needs replacing.â The latter put down his mobile phone. It was rare that customers visited his shop as soon as he opened in the morning, and as he talked to Bai Qing, he observed her. Although she was a student, she seemed to have come from a rather wealthy family. Quickly, he assumed that she must know little about mobile phones, which meant deceiving and manipulating her would be a breeze.
Bai Qing handed the broken cell phone to the shop owner.
âDamn. This is a 6-plus.â
The boss took the phone and looked at it. âThis is worse than I thought. The entire screen is broken. Did you throw the phone downstairs? Now the entire screen has to be replaced, and it will cost you eight hundred yuan.â Worrying that Bai Qing might think that he was overcharging, he added, âThis is the official price. You can check it online if youâre not confident.
But to his surprise, Bai Qing did not even attempt to bargain with him. She just nodded and said, âReplace it. Do you have a phone that I can use here? Can I use it to make a call?â
âI donât have a landline. You can use my mobile.â
Bai Qing snatched the phone from him, startling the unsuspecting owner. He might have just encountered someone worse than him. Would such a good-looking girl rob him? Fortunately for him, she did not run away. She was simply looking for a corner to use it.
Before she could make the call, however, she heard a voice calling from behind. âOh, you are here!
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